South Africa's electricity utility Eskom is to install a desalination unit at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, as water shortages in Cape Town hit crisis levels, reports South Africa's News24.com.

The site of Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, north of Cape Town, South Africa, may host a project to pilot desalination for municipal use

The news comes as level 4 water restrictions, which would limit residential use to 100 litres of water per person a day, have been proposed by Cape Town authorities. If approved, they will come into effect on 1 June 2017.

Eksom’s new desalination system is intended to produce water for use by the plant. The first phase will be a simplified mobile unit that can be installed quickly; a potential future phase would integrate a desalination system with the plant processes to increase capacity.

The desalination project has been fast-tracked after level 3 water restrictions were introduced in Cape Town on 1 February 2017.

Further, Eskom has agreed to support Cape Town authorities if they choose to progress plans to install a small scale desalination unit for municipal use at the Koeberg site. It would produce 2,500 to 5,000 m3/d, and would act as a forerunner to a larger potential desalination plant project, for which two locations on Cape Town’s northwest coast are being considered.